Cat with an ear hematoma

My sweet, sweet cat, Pierre, has been struggling with ear mites for a while and just last night I noticed that he has developed a hematoma in his ear. The outside of his ear has swelled up from all of the scratching and shaking of his head. From what I have read, the treatment is that it needs to be sliced, anyone have any experience with this? A vet bill is certainly not feasable in my financial future, of course I would do anything for my baby, though. Do any of you do some of your own "procedures" at home under the right conditions? Thanks!

I've had cats that have had that. I'd say take it in to be drained at least since the pressure from the swelling hurts. I have one of my housecats that has had it on both of his ears. An old outside tom got over it on his own eventually. Couldn't catch him to take him in.

I know you said a vet bill is hard for you, but do you have a good relationship with your vet - maybe they would let you pay over time? I say this because these sorts of things are terribly painful, and now you also have an infection going on that would probably benefit from antibiotics.
If it really isn't possible to afford the vet, some humane societies have emergency funds to help folks with unexpected bills. It's worth a call to your local one to see.
If none of that works and you have to try to deal with it yourself, I would suggest that you NOT cut into the ear. I think the best thing to do is to treat it like an abscess. Hold a hot compress to the ear for as long as the cat will allow you to. This helps soften everything and brings the pus to the surface. Then you can squeeze around the ear gently, and hopefully the pus will break through where it is nearest to the skin. Keep squeezing until it is all out (The pus may smell atrocious... ). Then I would apply some sort of topical antibiotic or peroxide. You may have to do this frequently and for a few days.
Good luck!

"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." ~Albert SchweitzerFight factory farms!

1/10th of a cc of Ivermectin into each ear will take care of your mites. Just drop it in and massage down.
We've drained dogs ears at home but it usually just fills right back up within a few hours if it isn't tacked by a vet.
Cat hematomas seem to be a real pain in the rear to deal with. If you really can't afford to take it to the vet then you can leave it to wrinkle up...it will be ugly but once the hematoma goes away (can be up to several weeks or more!) it will just be a ugly little ear. It is painful but you might see if the doc can give you some pain meds to keep the cat's mind off and stop the shaking so much until it heals.

When I worked at the SPCA we would drain dogs easrs with a syringe and needle. If you have a small needle and can get someone to scruff the cat really good use that to drain the ear carefully. Make sure to wipe the site before hand with achohol to disinfect it. Make sure to treat the earmites, they can eventually cause brain damage if they continue. Even putting some mineral oil or vegetable in a couple times a day will eventually kill them.